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The Gamer's Guide to Freedom by The Dark Wolf Shiro
Anime X-overs & High School DxD/ハイスクールD×D Xover Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Fantasy, Words: 191k+, Favs: 5k+, Follows: 5k+, Published: Aug 19, 2020 Updated: Oct 2, 2021
2,363Chapter 4: Dearly Departed
Disclaimer: I own nothing
The Gamers Guide to Freedom
Chapter 04: Dearly Departed
Sharing Kuoh with another King wasn't her first choice, not even remotely, but while there were many advantages to being the little sister of Lucifer himself, there were also several downsides.
Sirzechs very rarely used his position over her, but when he did, she had no choice but to accept meekly, especially when he was serious enough to ignore her attempts to convince him otherwise.
Despite how ridiculous he could be at times, Sirzechs did take his job seriously, and he agreed with Serafall's plan to put the new Lord Dantalion in Kuoh, and when two Satans both agreed on something, there was nothing a couple of Heiresses could hope to do, even when those Satans were their overbearing elder siblings.
It also meant neither of them could refuse when asked to... keep an eye on the new Lord. It was the first time she'd been given a serious assignment by Sirzechs, and that told her just how serious it was.
Walking up the path towards the manor, Rias smiled slightly at the constant feeling of magic tickling her skin. Kuro Dantalion hadn't wasted any time securing his new home.
It wasn't an oppressive feeling, but her magical senses were good enough to pick up the subtle feeling of the wards surrounding the estate.
"They don't feel very aggressive, some form of detection ward?" Sona muttered, more to herself than to her. Sona was a big fan of trying to work out how other people's magic worked, even if she couldn't use it herself.
She was a pretty big nerd when it came to magic... but that helped her and her peerage since her entire strategy in battle was to learn how her opponent's abilities worked so she could counter them.
"If so, he already knows we are here." Rias pointed out as they approached the front door, getting her confirmation almost immediately as the door opened before they could even announce themselves.
Pausing, she glanced over the smiling woman at the door... a human? Ah, this must be one of the Dantalion slaves her brother had told her about.
The ginger-haired woman curtsied to them with a submissive smile, wearing an incredibly deep-cut emerald dress that left her modest breasts almost completely on display.
"Heiress Sitri, Heiress Gremory, allow me to welcome you to Lord Dantalion's new estate. He has been expecting you. I am Aria, the head slave of House Dantalion. Please come in. Lord Kuro is awaiting you in the conference room as we speak." Aria said, her tone humble and respectful as she rose.
Was it planned for her to point out that Kuro's position was technically higher than theirs? They might be heiresses, but Kuro was already the Lord of his family, even if it was a tragic situation that had lead to his early rise to power.
Judging from Sona's subtle frown, she certainly thought so.
It was also nice to get an idea of Kuro's personality. Given what he had his slave wear, he was almost certainly a lustful devil. Not that that was much of a surprise, or even really a problem.
It would be hypocritical of her to have a problem with lustful devils when she had Akeno of all people as her Queen.
"Of course, lead the way." Sona spoke for them, entering the building as the slave took a step back.
It was hard to tell after such a short time, but the woman seemed happy enough, She was certainly well-spoken, and the dress looked far more expensive than she'd expect from a slave.
She couldn't really learn anything about her new co-King from the mansion itself; it was a gift after all, and one he had only just moved into. It did say something about his mindset that he had put up some wards already.
The former Lord Dantalion was apparently an incredibly honourable man, for a Devil at least, but her brother knew little about his son as he'd left the meeting to Serafall.
There was a bit of a disagreement over whether Extra Demons classed as foreign or domestic affairs issue, but with the Old Satans doing Old Satan things, Sirzechs had to step back from the Dantalion situation to try and stop a civil war from starting up again.
Stopping a civil war from starting was basically Sirzechs nine-to-five job.
As they entered the conference room, she only had one real thought on her first look at the newest King in Kuoh.
Maou damn it... he's a Sloth Devil.
Her second thought was... what the fuck were the seven-foot-tall snake ladies behind him?
Staring at the older teen as he rested his head against his fist, she immediately recognised the laziness in his gaze, the way he slouched in his chair.
Even if she hadn't met the laziest devil in the Underworld, Falbium Asmodeus, repeatedly, she'd seen that same lethargic gaze in the mirror every day for years.
It was one of the main reasons she was in danger of being forced to marry Riser. She had had years to prepare for dealing with him, and instead, she had put it off over and over again.
She'd even ignored her mother and brothers advice to start training harder over the past few years, and now she was almost out of time. Years had turned to months while she had played school girl, and now she had so little time left to train it wouldn't make a difference if she spent her every waking moment working herself and her peerage to the bone.
A small voice that sounded strangely like Sona pointed out she was just making excuses not to work again.
In the position she had put herself in, she only really had one choice left... get out of her marriage somehow without having to beat Riser in a Rating Game. She had to hope for a miracle.
Her original plan to get out of her engagement had actually gone incredibly well, but she had underestimated just how set on the engagement their parents were.
She'd put every connection she had to use as she set about destroying Riser's reputation, because she knew how seriously her father took reputation.
She had thought ruining Riser's reputation and painting him as the villain in their engagement would be enough to get her out of her marriage, but her father had punished her by speeding it up instead.
Devils had short memories despite their long lifespan, and in time another scandal would draw people's attention away from her hard work trashing Riser's reputation so they could look down on someone else instead.
Riser simply wasn't important enough for anyone to really care enough to remember the rumours she painstakingly spread about him. If he was the heir of his family, things would be different, but who cares for some third son?
She'd wasted too much time and cornered herself, and now she needed outside help to escape her impending marriage.
It couldn't be Sona. The Sitri's were old allies of both the Gremory's and the Phenex's, and both Lord and Lady Sitri had made it clear that if Sona interfered with the affairs of two allied clans, she'd find herself back in the Underworld until she could be trusted to be left to her own devices again.
Her cousin Sairaong couldn't help either. She had hopes that with his strength he could help her but… he didn't inherit the Bael's Power of Destruction and that had resulted in him being practically tossed aside by his father. He had his own problems and was in no position to help her.
Her brother had made it clear that he couldn't free her from her engagement as well… for a multitude of reasons, not least of which was that he was one of the people who supported the contract that was made when she was first born. As the Satan in charge of Domestic Affairs, he had all but given the alliance his blessing, even if it was unneeded.
It was Something he couldn't just take back without good cause, and Riser being an asshole wasn't a good enough cause. Even if he could, Satan's were not permitted to interfere with clan business unless it posed a threat to the devil race as a whole.
It didn't help that his Queen and main advisor, Grayfia, was whispering into his ear to let the marriage go through. Grayfia was all about duty, and to the maid, it was simply Rias's duty to her family to marry Riser regardless of her personal feelings on the matter.
It was Ironic coming from the woman who betrayed her own family and faction to marry Sirzechs after he beat her in battle, then roleplayed as a maid for the next thousand years or so, but it wasn't really a surprise that devils excelled at hypocrisy.
So she needed someone else...
And someone who was probably too lazy to be that miracle wasn't a good sign. A prideful devil she could work with; prideful devils didn't tend to get on well after all, and Riser was very prideful. Put them in a room together, and she'd have her ally against Riser in minutes.
A greedy devil was a bit more complicated, but still workable. A lustful devil would be ideal; she was incredibly beautiful and had no qualms about using that to her advantage.
But a lazy devil? It would be a pain in her perfect ass to get his help, especially with the restrictions she had to work with thanks to having two Satans breathing down her neck not to drive him away.
"Lord Dantalion, I take it?" Sona started. It was nice sharing her town with Sona... she was more than willing to do all the hard work. It was why their dual ownership had worked out so well so far.
"Kuro is fine, Heiress Sitri." Kuro half-sighed as he sat up straighter, drawing her attention to his slightly moving shirt pocket. A small skeletal head poked out of it and stared at her before it shot back into his pocket.
Was that an animated skeletal rat? What kind of fun-house of horrors was this?
...it was kinda cute.
There was an... aura around him that sent shivers through her for reasons she couldn't quite put her finger on, a chill to the air around him. It wasn't uncomfortably cold, but it put her on edge.
He looked as unthreatening as possible if you ignored the snake women almost glaring at them with a creepy yellow stare, nowhere near as cute as Koneko's golden gaze... the way he was still half slouched in his chair and the lethargic way he moved didn't make him seem like a danger at all... and yet something in the way he looked at them made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
"Then Sona will do. This is my queen, Tsubaki." Sona introduced calmly as she took one of the four seats prepared, either not sensing the same sinister feeling or simply pushing through it.
Another nice flex was that he already knew how many people were coming before they arrived, and prepared the exact number of seats.
"And I am Rias, and this is my own queen, Akeno." Rias finally said as he turned to her, a strange mixture of curiosity and recognition in his gaze.
"Ahh, I thought I recognised you. Congratulations on your engagement, Miss Gremory." Kuro said after a moment, a lazy smile growing on his face even as she and Akeno glared at rolled her eyes.
...Oh fuck this guy.
- Kuro -
-10 Affection with Rias Gremory [-20/100]... you know why
Heh, couldn't resist.
"Thank you." Rias says, with more venom in her words than the Naga standing behind me has in its entire body.
Doing my best to look innocent, I take a moment to let my disappointment grow.
I started at level one around a week or two ago... so why the fuck are their levels so low?
Tsubaki I can understand. I don't know how long she has been with Sona, and the holds the lowest level of thirty-one, which is something I can excuse if she's fairly newly turned. Akeno, I can almost understand with her higher level of thirty-four.
Sona is the highest by a considerable margin, having broken the level fifty barrier and reaching level fifty-one, a whole thirty-six levels higher than me... but why, in the actual fuck, is Rias only level thirty-seven?!
That's only twenty-two levels higher than me, and the only reason I haven't levelled up further is because I hit a road-block in the form of those asshole ghosts, something I am hoping to fix by coming here.
Assuming Sona and Rias are the same age, and taking into account that they are rivals, I would have expected Rias to be the higher level of the two since she has the motivation of Riser and her marriage to encourage her to train hard... but she's fourteen levels lower?
Damn it, now I need another Devil Heir or Heiress and their ages to work out if Rias is lazy or Sona is an overachiever.
Or both.
What this has told me is that catching up to my 'peers' shouldn't be that hard; surpassing them will simply require time and effort.
Two things I have, oddly enough.
I don't have unlimited time, but I have time to spare since I don't think Kokabiel's nonsense happens too close to the start of the show, and there's no way we are already mid-season with levels this pathetic.
Rias relies on Issei a lot, but surely she would be a lot higher level than this if we were later on in the show.
"You're welcome. Now, is there an actual purpose to this meeting, or are we just playing meet and greet?" I ask calmly, relaxing slightly now that I know catching up to my peers won't be the insurmountable task I originally expected.
"While meeting the newest Devil in Kuoh was a large part of my reasoning for coming here today, I also wanted to extend an invitation to you to join the meetings Rias, and I have every month to discuss any and all matters affecting our city." Sona says calmly, clearly cutting off Rias before she can reply again.
Should I be deliberately antagonising her? Probably not, but I'm just so... disappointed. She has the fucking Power of Destruction, and she doesn't even train with it? I almost hope she ends up stuck with Riser for her laziness.
"In all honesty, I'm not particularly interested in the ruling of Kuoh. I'm more than happy to be a silent ruler and allow you to rule as you have been. I'd be happy to attend your meetings but don't feel a need to change things on my account." I say back to her, smiling lazily even as I watch her.
Sona is hard to read, but there's something that gives me an advantage in dealing with her...
+10 Affection with Sona Sitri for not undermining the rule she enjoys [5/100]
They all started at -5, but I already know exactly why that is...
[Deathly Presence]
The Death Magic coursing through your body has taken its toll, leaving you pale and somewhat sickly looking, and you give off a natural aura that most living beings find intimidating or off-putting. Undead creatures find this aura appealing.
Devil's are living creatures, after all, supernatural or not.
"I'd be far happier simply working on my warding skills to be perfectly blunt. In fact, that relates to the only real question I actually have: is there going to be a problem with me placing wards around the city?" I ask with a smile, watching Sona pause as she shares a glance with Rias.
"That would depend on what exactly these wards do. While this estate is yours to do with as you please, the city is shared between all three of us, and we cannot have one king holding more power over the city than the others." Sona says sternly, clearly the spokesperson here; Rias is more than happy to just give me a dirty look while Sona talks.
"Surveillance and detection wards are the ones I was most interested in, both of which could be used by all three of us if that would make you more comfortable. If you choose a room in a neutral location, I can set up the security system there and show you how to use it; both wards are rather simple to use after all." I offer, watching Sona's eyes narrow in thought.
Obviously, I won't include my own estate in the area covered... and my family knows a trick to make surveillance type wards just... ignore our presence.
"The school could work. We are there almost every day, after all." Rias points out after a moment, her scowl fading into a pout as she gives me a dirty look. If there's one positive thing I can say about her, it's that she is incredibly attractive.
Really going for that seductress devil thing.
"Perhaps, but having an older teen who isn't a student frequently visiting the school could start rumours and could even damage the reputation of the school." Sona counters before she pauses and looks me over for a moment. "Although Kuro could pass for a mature third year easily enough."
If it wasn't for Sona's small breasts I'd think that devils are so... voluptuous by nature, she's certainly the odd one out in this group.
Even Tsubaki has impressively large breasts, though no match for Rias and more importantly Akeno's ridiculous large tits.
Did she have to get a custom version of the already revealing Kuoh school uniform to fit those fucking things inside it? Her shirt looks like it's about to burst every time she so much as twitches.
"Ara Ara~"
I was staring, wasn't I?
+5 Affection with Akeno for amusing her [-5/100]
"As I was saying, if you are quite done staring at Akeno, you could pass for a third year easily enough, and with the staff in our families pockets it would be child's play to get you enrolled." Sona says, her tone stern and ever so slightly hurt as she glances around the room then down to herself.
"Did I not just say I'd rather spend my time studying my family magic? Wasting hours every day sitting in classes seems counter-productive, especially when your sister is waiting for me to get good enough with my wards." I refute quickly.
Don't get me wrong, attending Kuoh won't be that bad from a logical standpoint; it takes away some of the mystique of being a new arrival who spends all day lurking in his murder estate, and it puts me in place to get my hands on Issei and the other guy before they can beat me to it...
But I didn't graduate high-school and then die, only to get stuck going to high-school all over again, even if it is just for a single year of my new pseudo-immortal life.
Huh, maybe that's why Rias and Sona are so happy to waste time in the human world? What are a few years when you have a life expectancy in the four digits at a minimum?
"Do you honestly think I waste all my time attending classes? The school staff are employed by the Sitri and Gremoryare family, and are well aware of our supernatural status. There is a hypnotic spell cast over the students at the beginning of the year by my sister to make them ignore any unusual occurrences around us. Given that you coming here was her idea and something she pushed for, getting her to take an hour out of her day to recast it should be simple enough. Attend as many or as few lessons as you want; it simply gives you a reason to be coming in and out of the school, which is useful given that most of our monthly meetings are held there." Sona explains as I pause.
That... explains way too much.
"We take turns hosting them, and I host mine in the building I have claimed for the club I use as a cover for my Peerage." Rias explains after a moment, still pouting slightly.
"And I either use the student council room, of which I am the President as the Student Council is my own peerage, or I hold them at my family mansion in the Underworld occasionally." Sona continues making me nod.
"If I am expected to host them, I'll do it here. No offence but we don't allow outsiders into Dantalion Castle without very good reason. Your sister was one of the first people outside the family to see the insides in centuries." I say with a shrug.
"Understandable, now, if you have no other issues, I will start the paperwork to have you enrolled. Technically your first day should be this Monday, but the staff and students will not notice your absence if you choose not to attend. I will find a rarely used room in the school and have it cleared for the security system when you are ready to start warding." Sona says, making me chuckle internally at how she has basically taken charge of this meeting, but with Rias and me as her partners, it isn't really surprising.
"Very well, but I have too much to do to attend classes so I will likely skip most days... I might attend on Monday, but don't expect me to make a habit of it." I agree with a shrug.
If I don't have to attend every day, then it really only works in my favour. I'm not a Fleshcrafting Devil Lord; I'm just a third-year student at Kuoh.
"Excellent, the only real issue going on in the city at the moment is the presence of a stray devil. Most likely a woman named Viser as she was reported as missing shortly before we realised we had a stray in our city. So far she has simply kidnapped and likely killed several human men but she will need eliminating to keep the order in Kuoh." Sona informs me calmly, her tone utterly casual as she speaks of the deaths of humans.
I vaguely remember her? Didn't she die right at the beginning?
"My familiar is searching for her, but she is fairly good at hiding. When I find her, my Peerage and I will eliminate her. If you find her first feel free to take her out yourself. She is apparently incredibly weak." Rias says, waving her hand slightly.
But she is magical... and I could use some magical materials to work with.
"There are some magicians living in the city, but they keep to themselves and pay tribute for living in devil territory, and the local Church is being inhabited by several Fallen from the Grigori; do try not to antagonise them. They might be living in our territory but driving them off would be more trouble than it is worth; the peace between our races is fragile enough, and it simply isn't worth risking conflict just to throw them out of an abandoned church, at least until they actually do something that gives us cause to have them driven out. The last thing we want is to kill them only to find out that one of them is one of Azazel's children and for him to take offence." Sona scoffs.
"That's a risk?" I ask despite myself.
"Half the Grigori are Azazel's spawn." Sona deadpans back. "It's better to assume that if a Fallen doesn't have that many wings, they are probably Azazel's bastards."
"Ah."
"Indeed. Fortunately, the Church itself has no presence in Kuoh after the deaths of Masaomi Yaegaki and Cleria Belial, so you don't need to worry about that faction. Next, your... whatever they are." Sona drawls, glancing at my Naga as they glare back. "While the students are under a spell to ignore unusual occurrences, the town is not, and you are still expected to keep up the masquerade and hide any blatant supernatural activity from the humans of the town." Sona warns as I smile.
"They are my Nagas, my own creations, and you don't need to worry... I have my own ways to prevent people from spotting the supernatural. Any humans looking into my estate won't be able to see my Naga patrolling." I say soothingly as she frowns.
"I thought wards were your family magic, and I've certainly not heard of any devil magic that can create... monsters?" Rias points out as I shrug.
"I prefer the word 'Abominations'."
"Wards are my family magic, and this is my own unique magic. I don't know where it came from in truth, but I've always had it. I made Gadget here when I was seven." I say with a smile as I hold my hand to my pocket and watch as the skeletal rat scurries out onto it, rushing up my arm onto my shoulder. "Beyond that, my magic is my business, and I expect you to respect that."
As Rias goes to speak again, Sona cuts her off.
"Understood, family magic is personal, after all." Sona says, giving Rias a warning glare. "If you say you can keep them hidden, so be it. As long as it does not cause problems then I have no further problems with-"
As she goes to continue, a flash of blue flames fills the room and I sigh even as Nyx makes herself known, the lazy shadow phoenix landing on the table in front of me with a cry.
"...it? What-"
Couldn't wait five more minutes, huh you fat bird?
Reaching into my pocket, I access my inventory and pull out a small packet of berries, picking one out and feeding it to the greedy fucker before she makes a fuss.
"Sorry, she can be a real handful at times." I say calmly, ignoring their stares as I stroke the head-feathers of the smug bird, passing more berries to her. "This is Nyx, my familiar."
"Is that a- no, never mind that. I'm not sure I even want to know." Sona mutters, staring at Nyx even as my familiar stares back with far too smug eyes. "That is everything I had to discuss with you today, and frankly I have more things to do today, so if you have no questions yourself then I will take my leave."
"I have no questi-" I start before pausing, mentally checking a ping in my wards.
Normally my detection wards are tied to a map in my security room, and my surveillance wards are tied to a 'screen' in the same room where I can control the bird's eye view and move it around, but I can access my detection ward mentally as long as I am within its range.
"I have one question." I correct after a moment, watching the devil aura heading up the path towards my estate. "Is the devil currently letting themselves into my house one of yours or should I have my nagas start attacking?"
"None of my peerage should be coming here, and they certainly know better than to storm into another devils home." Sona says as she stands up, magic circles forming in one of her hands as she prepares a stares at the door as she hears the approaching footsteps.
"My peerage all have other duties today so it won't be any of them." Rias confirms as she rises herself, just as the door is forcibly opened. A scowling blonde storms in and quickly looks around the room, his glare locking onto me.
Yuuto Kiba, Host of Sword Birth
LVL – 35
Faction – Rias Gremory's Peerage
Thoughts about you – Grudge
Reputation – -30
The fuck did I do?
...oh right, Excalibur.
- Rias -
Oh no.
"Kiba, go home now, we will be talking about this later." Rias said in her sternest voice, staring down her knight as he glared at Kuro, who looked back with a bored and almost amused gaze.
"Dantalion, your grandfather took one of the Excalibur pieces as a trophy in the great war before his death... what did he do with it?!" Kiba growled as Kuro started to smirk slightly.
"He put it in the trophy room, where Excalibur Rapidly sits to the day... behind some of the strongest wards in existence where no-one can get access to it." Kuro countered with a casual smile, uncaring of the suddenly hostile air.
"Kiba, leave. Now." Rias tried again, moving as she made eye contact with Akeno. The fact that the Dantalion's managed to claim one of the pieces of the Excalibur wasn't a secret; Izan Dantalion had made sure everyone knew that he had not only killed a holy sword wielder, but had also managed to steal the blade and take it back to the Underworld.
He also claimed he was going to capture Gabriel as the ultimate trophy and then got turned into a pile of ash by Michael, but that didn't change the fact that the sword was already hidden away by then.
It was shortly after that that the Dantalion's pulled back to their castle and, even though the Church had asked for it back during the negotiations, the Dantalion's never responded to any attempt to get them to give it back.
"Why are you protecting one of those damned blades? They have to be-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there. Get out of my house. Gremory, get your knight under control." Kuro said bluntly, an inarticulate growl leaving Kiba as he took a step forwards, both Naga behind Kuro standing to attention as they hissed, venom leaking from their fangs. "Excalibur Rapidly is mine, and it will remain in its place in my trophy room for the rest of time if I have my way."
"Rias." Sona said warningly, her magical circle still glowing, an ice spell to freeze a person in place if she was reading it right.
"Kiba, this is your last warning. We are leaving, and we are going to have a long talk about how you are supposed to act in front of a Lord." Rias warned as she stood in between Kiba and Kuro, hearing a lazy chuckle coming from Kuro.
Only a mad-man would fight a Dantalion in a place where they had time to prepare, and with Serafall and Sirzechs orders, not only would Sona join any fight on Kuro's side... she would have to as well.
"I'm sorry, Rias... but I can't just ignore someone who has one of those bastard swords. I'm not leaving here without-" Kiba ranted as she nodded slightly, Akeno reaching out and grabbing Kiba by the back of his neck.
As lightning coursed through Kiba's body, she sighed to herself and watched him fall to the ground, the surprise attack knocking him out.
Kiba would normally be far more on guard than that...
"Rias! I told you to make sure he wouldn't do this." Sona hissed angrily, her glasses flashing intimidatingly. It would be scarier if she didn't know that Sona had an enchantment on her glasses to make them do that.
"I did! He seemed to understand!" Rias said defensively, and truthfully at that.
She'd spoken with Kiba at length about this very thing, and the fact that he just... lied to her face when he promised not to confront Kuro like this stung deeply.
"He seems nice. I'm sure you'll understand when I configure the wards to attack him if he returns." Kuro said lazily, seemingly the only person in the room not worried. "If this is how poorly you can control your peerage, I wish Riser the best of luck in dealing with you all, it certainly looks like you could all use a firm hand..."
"I... apologise for the actions of my knight; the Excalibur pieces are a particularly sore spot for him. I will ensure he is properly punished for his actions." Rias bit out, ignoring his barbed comment.
"Mhmm, you do that. Now if you don't mind... go away." Kuro drawled, the slightest hint of anger in his gaze as he stared her down.
"I have to agree, perhaps it is best we leave Lord Dantalion to his studies... we have a lot to talk about after all." Sona half-growled.
"It's still Kuro to you, Sona." Kuro assured her, giving her fellow King a calm smile which she returned after a moment. "You and your peerage are always welcome here, but I understand that you're a busy woman. It was a pleasure meeting you. Miss Gremory, it was an... experience meeting you, I guess."
A part of her still wanted to glare at him, but honestly? That was fair.
– Later -
Collapsing onto her couch, she groaned as the ringing of her ears started to fade.
Sona had a very... shrill shouting voice when she was angry, and she had just spent the past three hours ranting at her for Kiba's actions.
To make it worse, this wouldn't be the end of it as Sona had made it clear she was going to have to report this to the Satan Leviathan... who would tell Sirzechs, who would probably tell their parents because he didn't like shouting at her himself.
Or worse, he'd send Grayfia and she'd get a seven hour lecture about how she had failed in her duties as both a King and a relative of a Satan. It was amazing how long Grayfia could lecture you without ever repeating herself.
Fun.
Kiba was under house arrest, and would remain so until she had any idea what the hell she was supposed to do with him.
He didn't attack Kuro, but there was no denying that it was heading that way... a reincarnated devil threatening a pureblood lord was a nightmare scenario already, even if two Satans weren't interested in that very Lord.
She couldn't just give him a slap on the wrists this time, not with Sona, Serafall and Sirzechs watching. Oddly enough, Kuro was probably the one who cared the least.
If he was demanding Kiba's head... he'd probably get it, and for that she was thankful that he seemed so unconcerned about Kiba.
He was a sarcastic asshole who enjoyed pushing her buttons far too much, but he wasn't as vengeful as she had expected.
He seemed to find the whole situation more amusing than anything else, even if it had annoyed him.
"That could have gone better." Akeno deadpanned as she sat down, making Rias groan into the couch-arm.
"It couldn't have gone much worse." Rias sighed as she sat up. "Do you think he was genuine when he was congratulating me on my engagement?" Rias asked after a moment.
"Well, Kiba could have attacked him before we could knock him out... and no, he definitely wasn't; he was enjoying pissing you off... I know a fellow sadist when I see one~ such a naughty one as well. Ufufufu~"
She'd known Akeno for years, and she still wasn't sure if she was actually laughing or just saying Ufufufu out loud.
"What did you think of him?" Rias asked, her brow narrowed in thought.
"He's lazy, he doesn't want to do anything he finds too much effort, he was serious about focusing on his studies and he has probably been putting them off as much as a certain other lazy heir~ I suppose his parent's death was a rather rude wake-up call for him." Akeno said seriously, her teasing tone fading even as she got one last jab in. "He's also a pervert, even if he wasn't that blatant about it... I can't blame him for growing bored and letting his gaze wander while Sona was on a roll."
"Sona does like talking too much." Rias agreed with a slight giggle before she went quiet.
She had no idea what Kuro Dantalion could do. She'd almost written him off from being able to help her simply because the Dantalion family magic was something that required a lot of prep work, and there was no way she could get the Lord of another family to join her peerage; even she knew that.
But those things... Nagas...
What the hell was that magic? What could his Nagas do? What else could he make... and could they be turned with Evil Pieces?
She had two major problems when it came to beating Riser... One, his regeneration.
As long as she didn't have a way to get past his ability to regenerate, she couldn't hope to win a rating game... but Phenex's had been killed before, both in the Great War and in the Civil War.
It wasn't impossible.
And two... Riser had a full peerage, even if most of his peerage were basically sex toys picked to fit a type rather than for their skills.
Only Riser, Ravel and Yubelluna were really a challenge, but quantity had a quality of its own and she would lose simply because her peerage would be overwhelmed.
Suddenly it was looking like Kuro might be able to help her after all. Now she just had to get more information and work out how the hell to make him help her despite their... rough start.
That wasn't even taking into account that he had a fucking phoenix, a mystical creature so rare there had been less than a dozen confirmed sightings, ever. She wasn't convinced it was the real thing, but if it was then Kuro had one of the rarest creatures in existence as his attention-seeking familiar.
The Phenex family had a bounty out offering a small fortune for any information that led to them finding a real phoenix, but it had never been claimed as every attempt had been proven to be a hoax.
If Kuro knew where she could find another one, she could probably get the Phenex's to break the marriage off themselves, but even she wasn't desperate enough to try and take a devil's familiar.
"Rias, I know how worried you are getting but we are already on very thin ice thanks to Kiba... if you mess up and make Kuro go back to his castle-" Akeno started.
"I know, being Sirzechs little sister won't save me. The marriage would probably be fast-tracked and I'd be married off to Riser and we'd be sent to live in the Phenex mansion for the rest of my life." Rias agreed with a deep sigh.
As Akeno went to speak, a magical circle lit up the room, an icy blue glow flooding the room as Rias let out a sigh.
As the silver-haired maid teleported into the middle of her private lounge, Rias wasn't even surprised as Grayfia turned to her with a decidedly unimpressed stare.
- Kuro -
Kiba is an asshole.
But... he gave me an idea.
You see, when he mentioned my grandfather I had a moment of clarity and remembered something.
My grandfather, Izan Dantalion, was the greatest user of Dantalion wards in the history of my family.
AND I HAVE A SPELL THAT LETS ME COMMUNICATE WITH THE DEAD.
I'm a fucking idiot.
Why am I trying to work this all out by myself when I can just call the greatest wardsmith in history back from the grave and ask him? I've gone over the spell repeatedly, and all it does is summon the spirit back.
As far as I can tell, it won't have any powers and cancelling the spell sends it right back to wherever devils go when they die.
I'm not being stupid about this. I've picked a room out and placed an inverted spirit ward on it to trap him until I'm ready to banish him... and if he proves unwilling?
I have an entire family of wardcrafters just ready to be called on; I'm sure one of them will be willing to help out an industrious descendant.
Calling up my mana again, I frown in concentration as I focus on summoning the right soul, and my magic reaches out and grasps for the soul of my dearly departed grandad.
As the spectral form of a somewhat man starts to form, I prepare myself to try and convince a man who every record says was a sadistic monster to help me... right before he starts cackling to himself.
"I AM FREE! EAT SHIT, GOD- OWW, FUCK, SHIT, FUCK, DAMN IT. I'M ALREADY DEAD YOU CUNT, STOP ZAPPING ME FOR SAYING YOUR NAME YOU PIECE OF- Wait, who the fuck are you?"
As the spirit stares down at me, his head tilting slightly, I take a moment to ask myself if it wouldn't be better to go for another Dantalion instead. Do I really need the best ward-crafter? Can't I just settle for a decent ward-crafter instead?
"Well? I asked you a question you creepy looking mother-fucker. Or are you mute you pale ass bitch, you better not be a fucking vampire. Spooky ass bloodsuckers..." Izan, the greatest of all Dantalion's, scoffs as I stare at him.
Despite his immense age, he looks like he is in his late twenties at the worst, with short black hair and scornful red eyes on a rough but admittedly handsome face.
"You know what, you can go back to wherever you were before I summoned you. I'll find someone else to help me with my wards." I decide calmly, watching as his eyes widen in shock, lunging forwards quickly.
"Nope, sorry... the spirit ward ends there." I say tauntingly as he slams into an invisible barrier.
"Okay, okay... maybe we got off on the wrong foot. You need help with wards? That means you're a Dantalion; you kinda have the right look for it... I'd have been politer or some shit if I knew you were my kin. Besides, you need help with wards? I'm the fucking greatest wardsmith the Underworld has ever seen, I've had proud noble devils beg on their hands and fucking knees for me to make them one of my mediocre wards, even the fucking Archangels weren't willing to fight me in a place where I had time to prepare." Izan brags as I pause. "See, there's no reason to send me back- what's your name, kid?"
"Kuro Dantalion, your grandson and the newest Lord of the Dantalion family, and didn't you get murdered by an Archangel?" I point out as he pauses, scratching his chin.
"Shit, a teenager is the Lord? The fuck happened while I was gone? And okay yeah, technically... but they cheated. Fucking Big G himself shattered my wards to save his precious Gabriel and I was too distracted to notice Michael charging me. In my defence, Gabriel has the best tits in existence and I'd just beaten her sexy ass to the ground and ripped her dress Big G hadn't gotten involved then Michael would have had to watch as I pounded that Archangel pussy until she fell." Izan brags before he pauses. "With the benefit of hindsight, I probably should have just grabbed her and teleported back to the Underworld, but I'm still probably the only person ali- the only person who can say they've groped those big fat angel tits. Plus, you know how good it feels to make an angel fall while you're balls deep inside them? It was worth the risk."
"I- You're an idiot."
"I'm a fucking genius, or I was... now all that genius is wasting away in 'probably not hell' and that's a fucking waste." Izan says as he shrugs. "Look kid, the fact that you need help with wards, and you're the fucking Lord despite being a brat, means you're in a fucked situation, and the whole clan is probably doing just as bad, figures that my dipshit son fucked everything up, the best part of him leaked out of your grandmothers cunt onto the bedsheets... or the dining room table, he always was a fucking disappointment. You need help, I don't want to go back to that shithole, so let's talk." Izan offers as I pause.
"Wait, go back to where?" I ask after a moment.
"You know how they say that there's no such thing as hell cause it's just the Underworld and how devil souls just sorta vanished into a void? Big G was a fucking liar, there is absolutely a hell... or at least a place that Devil souls go to after they die. It isn't fucking fun." Izan grumbles. "Take my advice, brat... don't fucking die. Where you're going isn't a place you wanna be."
"I'll take that under advisement..."
"So, what the fuck happened while I was gone and how badly did that waste of a cum-shot fuck things up?" Izan asks as he puts his hands in his spectral pockets.
This is what I'm dealing with... he better be fucking amazing at ward-crafting.
As another light fills the room, we both turn our attention to the side where an icy blue magical circle glows, a figure appearing in the centre.
As she steps forwards, I immediately recognise the maid with silver braided hair from my vague memories of DxD.
Oh shit.
"Lord Dantalion, on behalf of my King, the Great Satan Lucife-"
"Damn, look at those tits. Hey Maid girl, don't you want to attend to my needs."
"...excuse me?" Grayfia Lucifuge half-growls, the room growing far colder than the presence of a ghost and a necromancer could hope to make it.
Oh for the love of God-
-50hp
Oww.
- Bonus Scene – For Ward Maintenance or Repairs, Please Press 1 -
Sighing to herself, Yasaka took a moment to curse the fact that she couldn't just incinerate stupid followers.
Once upon a time, the Youkai were on friendly terms with the devils, so friendly in fact that she had been able to negotiate and purchase a ward-scheme from the Dantalion family to keep her people safe and hidden.
Once upon a time the Dantalion's had decided that the rest of the world could go fuck themselves and hid in their castle. Frankly it wasn't a terrible decision considering how absurd the world was getting during the great war. And when they did, they collapsed most of their wards in the process, a final act of spite towards the people who were trying to stop them from leaving, but one of the wards that survived the collapse was the scheme the youkai had purchased as the youkai were also neutral and uninvolved with the Great War.
The Dantalion's realised that they couldn't survive without any allies at all, and she had made a deal with Iaxes Dantalion to supply the clan with what they needed, and in return they could keep their wards.
It worked well enough, until a certain idiot got delusions of grandeur.
One of her many relatives decided that she deserved to rule instead of Yasaka, but knowing that she couldn't hope to beat her in a fair fight got the brilliant idea of taking over the wards and turning them against her...
To the great surprise of only herself, she instead managed to break the entire ward-scheme, and while some of the wards survived, most of them simply failed completely, the wardstone damaged.
Then another genius got the idea to fix it themselves, and the wards went weird; some of them would turn themselves on and off repeatedly with no explantation, others would suddenly start targetting a certain race with no warning...
The great zappening was something Tengu still didn't like to speak off... no one died but they didn't like being reminded of the time they all started getting zapped with weak but constant lightning bolts for three weeks straight.
It made her smile when the Tengu representative was being an idiot.
She had called Iaxes to arrange for them to be repaired and instead his wife had answered, her reply?
That sounds like a problem for you.
Then she put the phone down.
Ever since then, she had been unable to get Iaxes to repair it.
The Dantalion's were now self-sufficient enough not to need the youkai, and while he had at least visited briefly to disable the dangerous wards and scold her like a child for breaking it, the sanctimonious asshole (he was a clear improvement on his psychopath father, but he was still an asshole), he had refused to repair it completely because it wasn't in the contract they had agreed on... and the Dantalion's were no longer taking new contracts.
Years passed and the wards laid dormant, only a mere fraction of them active and working... until she saw a silver light.
Looking on the Devilnet, a surprisingly useful source of information, she smiled a foxy smile as she read one of the trashy tabloids before she paused and frowned.
Are the Dantalion House returning to the 72 Pillars?
New Lord of the Dantalion House living in Kuoh with the Satan Leviathan and Lucifiers little sisters.
Izan was a deviant and a psychopath even by devil standards, and Iaxes was wound so tight he couldn't take a shit without checking his self-appointed rules three times. Perhaps Kuro would be more reasonable than his predecessors?
But first... she couldn't just show up at his doorstep. Aside from it being incredibly rude to do without warning, she'd definitely piss off the Satans if she interfered with the negotiations that were no doubt still ongoing...
Which meant she had to make contact with Serafall... who she had been stonewalling for years due to her unwillingness to look into the Nekomata incident or to punish those who had slaughtered the innocent Nekomata living in the Underworld.
Serafall meant well, and she truly wanted relations between the Youkai and Devils to be repaired, but she also couldn't rock the boat without risking starting a civil war.
It wasn't that she didn't understand; she had over a hundred sub-races all calling themselves 'Youkai' and it was almost daily that she had to step in to stop two of them from going to war over some minor slight, but she couldn't just sweep the extermination of a Youkai race under the rug either.
This would be... awkward.
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